Harish Lodhia, who has allied himself with Fiji military strongman Frank Bainimarama, was last year named Fiji consul to Auckland.

The stations sound similar but Tarana is the preferred Auckland outlet for Bainimarama. When Bainimarama was in Auckland this month a scuffle broke out with Tarana staff as a Humm reporter tried to ask him a question.

Slater, who was born in Fiji, has been an enthusiastic supporter of Bainimarama.

Documents obtained by a hacker, and leaked to author of Dirty Politics Nicky Hager, suggest the Fiji Government paid for Slater's trips to Fiji to interview Bainimarama.

In an email to Fairfax today Slater said "on my last two trips to Fiji I paid for my airfares, accommodation, food and entertainment entirely".

Slater also said he was not the only non-Tarana employee allowed to interview Bainimarama in New Zealand, pointing out that Indian Newslink, a community weekly publication, also had an interview with him.

* This story has been edited and updated since it was first published.